During my visit to Bristol, Connecticut, last week, I spent a lot of time talking to a lot of ESPN employees about Twitter. I was assured that ESPN does not hate Twitter, but more than that, several ESPN employees told me they're actively studying the use of Twitter by ESPN talent.And, when it comes to ESPN talent on Twitter, I was told by one ESPN staffer, "Bill Simmons is number one, and number two is -- there is no number two."
Actually, based on my own quick research and an informal list I got from ESPN, it appears that No. 2 is Jalen Rose, the former NBA player who's now an ESPN NBA analyst. Here's the list of ESPN employees with the most Twitter followers:
Bill Simmons 695,317
Jalen Rose 31,631
Mike Greenberg/Mike Golic 30,789
Chris Mortensen 26,391
Adam Schefter 26,181
Skip Bayless 24,921
J.A. Adande 23,262
Ric Bucher 19,876
Matthew Berry 15,405
Kenny Mayne 14,396
Colin Cowherd 12,079
Marc Stein 11,470
Rebecca Lobo 11,609
Michelle Beadle 10,887
Lisa Salters 8,460
This list may have some omissions, so if you notice any, tell me in the comments or on Twitter @MichaelDavSmith. In the meantime, that's your quick look at why at ESPN, Bill Simmons is the king of Twitter.
